Marnie carried the laundry back to Alice’s caravan, the handles of the basket cutting into the soft undersides of her fingers. The park was busy, full of holidaymakers. It was the last full weekend of the season. Barefoot children in their bright summer clothes were playing cricket between the caravans, smoke was puffing from barbecues, music was singing out from the open doors, babies toddled in their nappies and sunhats. Laughter, screams and splashing rang from the direction of the swimming pool.

Alice didn’t come to meet Marnie. She had remembered that part wrong. The door to Caravan 49 was ajar but there was no sign of Alice. Marnie had gone to the door, opened it wide and rested the laundry basket on the step. She’d knocked and Alice had come out of the bedroom at the back of the caravan, hopping as she pulled up her towelling shorts.

She’d come over to Alice.

She was wearing the necklace that Will had bought for her.

‘Hey, Marnie,’ she’d said, ‘thank you so much, you little angel!’

Her hair was messy and her cheeks were flushed and she wasn’t wearing a hairband. She leaned down to pick up the basket and the vest-top she was wearing gaped and Marnie saw the swing of the necklace.

Alice put the laundry basket on the table. She picked up the scarlet dress and held it against her body by the straps. She did a little dance, as if she was already wearing the dress, and then she laid it over the back of a chair. ‘Fantastic! I need everything to be perfect for tonight,’ she said, glancing towards the bedroom door. Will Jones’s boots were under the table. The glints of red from the sequins fell on the rough black leather, and the dress Alice had been wearing earlier was there on the floor next to the boots too.

Alice opened the fridge door and then she opened the smaller door to the freezer compartment and took out an ice-pop. She offered it to Marnie and Marnie took it and held it against the side of her neck. Alice smiled.

‘That hot, eh?’

She tore at the plastic at the top of her own ice-pop with her teeth, squeezed out an inch of coloured ice, and sucked at it.

‘Marnie, will you do one more thing for me today?’

Marnie didn’t want to do any more errands for anyone. All she wanted to do was take an aspirin and lie down in the cool grass in the shade of the apple tree and close her eyes and wait for her throat to stop being so sore. Still, she nodded because, of course, she would never refuse Alice anything.

Alice leaned her head a little closer to Marnie’s. She spoke quietly.